Cattle let loose from the Omeo Rodeo yards in the early hours of Sunday morning were recovered hours later on the road to Bairnsdale.
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The cattle, 25 Hereford heifers, were left in pens after Saturday's rodeo, for collection Sunday morning.
However, owners Bernard and Brenda Flannagan, Omeo, were shocked to find their heifers missing and feared the livestock were stolen.
Speaking to Stock & Land, Ms Flannagan said the couple were "very disappointed" that someone would disturb their cattle in such a way.
She said the cattle were either deliberately let loose from the rodeo pens or someone was disturbed while stealing them and they escaped.
"Someone has gone in there and let them out," she said.
Eleven heifers belonging to the Flannagans were found in the laneway at the pens, with the other 25 missing.
Ms Flanagan was assistant secretary of the Omeo Rodeo Committee and her husband was president.
She said their heifers were spotted running through the main street of Omeo in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"We were very lucky that it was in the middle of the night and not when there was traffic," she said.
Ms Flanagan said a woman camping near the rodeo saw the cattle and tried to turn them around but the stock were moving too quickly and she couldn't control them.
Scrambling to find their cattle when they arrived to collect them, the Flannagans immediately spanned out around land neighbouring the Gippsland town and searched along roads.
Fortunately, Ms Flanagan found the heifers in a field on the way to Bairnsdale and was able to round them up from there.
She said the cattle were quiet as they had been prepared for the rodeo over the summer, and that because of this, the mob stayed together.
"We're very relieved," she said.
The incident was reported to Victoria Police and their enquiries were ongoing.
Ms Flanagan said no one had yet come forward to confirm what happened to the heifers and there was no video footage available from the pens.
As long-term volunteers at the rodeo, she said her family were frustrated with what had happened.
She said they were exhausted from the search for the heifers and the rodeo clean up.
Sunday's events were not the first time cattle were seen running through the streets of Omeo.
A video of three runaway cattle was uploaded to social media last year after the first day of the 83rd Mountain Calf Sales.
